This invention relates to buildings and, more particularly, to a novel inflatable building that is particularly adapted for use as a greenhouse and the like.
In the past, there have been inflatable buildings which have been particularly adapted for use as greenhouses and the like. A typical form of such a prior-art building is described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,328,926, wherein there is provided a building which employs rigid frame means that is constructed of a metallic material to provide a plurality of compartments that contain inflatable air bags which are inflated from a single manifold that is connected through single control valve means to a source of pressurized air, with some of the inflatable bags being substantially translucent and others of them being substantially opaque. However, with such prior-art buildings the amount of light which can be transmitted through their covering means can be varied only by varying the relative numbers of the substantially translucent and substantially opaque inflatable bags that comprise their covering means.
And, various prior-art structures, such as those described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,249,682; 3,375,321; and 3,741,631, have been provided for varying the amount of light which can be transmitted through inflatable covering means for buildings. However, these prior-art structures have all employed inflatable members of rather complex and, hence, expensive construction, wherein one portion of each such inflatable member was substantially translucent and another portion of each such inflatable member was substantially opaque.
In this era of vastly expanding population and concurrent decreasing supplies of both food and fossil energy supplies there is a great demand for greenhouses. And, the present invention is directed toward providing a novel building structure that is particularly adapted for use as a greenhouse and the like and which is greatly improved and simplified both in construction and operation when compared to the aforedescribed old buildings.